James Colten

James is a former campaigns assistant (Intern Cycle 28) for Sojourners, and currently works as assistant to the CEO, Jim Wallis. He grew up outside of Chicago in Wheaton, IL, and graduated from Hope College (Holland, MI) in 2011 with a degree in political science. At Hope, he was able to pursue his passion for social justice, as well as study the effects of religion on social and political life. However, it was through his church in Holland that he began to learn about community and what it means to be a good neighbor.

In his spare time, he enjoys breaking a sweat by running and bicycling, or playing ultimate frisbee, football, tennis, and basketball. He is inspired by good music, creative cafés, and thriving farmers markets. He serves as a utility musician on his church’s music team, but enjoys playing regular, old pianos the most. Even though East Coast beaches are nice, none of them compare to the ones on the west coast of Michigan.

When I go home for Christmas, I always end up pulling out the old Christmas songbook from inside the piano bench and working my way through while my mom cooks dinner. I don’t really read the music as...